Friday, April 19, 2013

The performance of Pennsylvania's economy grows worse and worse. During the last year (March 2012 to March 2013), Pennsylvania became the only state in the nation to lose jobs. While the nation created 1.91 million jobs, Pennsylvania lost 5,800 jobs, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report.http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.t05.htm.

Pennsylvania's disastrous job creation record during the last 12 months compares terribly to New York, where 85,000 new jobs were created, or New Jersey that generated 54,000 jobs, or California that grew 260,000 new jobs.

During the last year, Pennsylvania was also one of just 8 states where the unemployment rate actually rose, even as the national unemployment rate declined. Pennsylvania's unemployment rate was 7.6% in March 2012 but rose to 7.9% in March 2013. For another month, Pennsylvania's unemployment rate was above the national average.

Pennsylvania's rate fell from 8.1% in February to 7.9% in March because of a large decrease in the labor force as people just gave up looking for jobs.

The responsibility for this terrible jobs performance, literally the worst in the nation, rests squarely with the disastrous policies of Governor Corbett. Corbett is a career prosecutor who fails to understand our econonmy and has managed to turn a gas boom and a national recovery that created 1.91 million jobs during the last 12 months into less jobs in Pennsylvania.

About Me

I am an expert on energy, environment, green economy, competitive electric markets, and utility regulation with unique experience in and out of government. I am a Democratic candidate for Governor of PA. See www.hangerforgovernor.com. You can email me at john@hangerforgovernor.com. I have been both the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Commissioner of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. I have made leading regulatory decisions, testified to Congress and state legislatures, and been interviewed countless times, appearing on CBS evening News, NBC Evening New, CNN, BBC, CBC, and many more outlets. I am a 1984 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and 1979 graduate of Duke University.